Music
The best albums of 2017
It's been an absolutely amazing year for music.
It's been a pretty outstanding year for musical output if you ask us, with a number of formidable artists hitting the studio after years laying low (Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, HAIM, the list goes on) and others emerging from the woodwork for the first time with stellar debut releases (Khalid, Ali Barter).
While this is by no means an exhaustive list, here are just some of the full-length albums that struck a chord with us this year - pun intended.
Bring on 2018.
DARCY BAYLIS - INTIMACY & ISOLATION (February 2017)
The comprehensive examination of the titular subjects is almost enough to warrant labelling Intimacy & Isolation a concept album. Melbourne producer Darcy Baylis reins in a disparate range of influences to create something unique and personal. It all builds to a rapturous pay-off in the closing track Be Patient, Be Tender, along with a sense that Baylis is only just getting started.
RVG – A QUALITY OF MERCY (February/October 2017)
Originally released this February in a purely DIY fashion, RVG’s debut album A Quality Of Mercy received a full-scale re-release in October. It’s rare for an album to be reissued in the same year, but if any album is worthy of a double-dip, it’s A Quality Of Mercy. RVG channel the rich Australian guitar-pop canon while pushing it forward. Vocalist Romy Vager relays lyrics both wicked and devastating. These songs are stunning on record, and staggeringly vivid in the live setting.
KHALID - AMERICAN TEEN (March 2017)
Citing influences as diverse as Kendrick Lamar, Grizzly Bear and Father John Misty, 19-year-old Khalid has delivered a debut album that uses his unique, R&B vocals to croon about everything from being Young Dumb & Broke to reminiscing about lost loves in Saved. Despite moving around a lot and growing up in a military base in Germany, Khalid’s proud to call himself an American Teen. He’s an amalgam of everything Generation Z, packaged up in a voice that sounds like it’s from the golden era of soul instead.
KENDRICK LAMAR - DAMN. (April 2017)
The thing is, DAMN. didn't really need an all-out single like HUMBLE. to stand tall. It's a masterstroke that Kendrick pulled off his biggest hit track to date while maintaining an artistic statement as bold as his previous instant classics To Pimp A Butterfly and Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Everything about DAMN. is big. Big features, one from the biggest band in the world (U2), but nothing about the album is bigger than Kendrick himself.
JLIN - BLACK ORIGAMI (May 2017)
On her second full-length album, Indiana producer Jlin constructs what feels like scattershot percussive codes across a post-apocalyptic landscape. At times, it feels like a call to arms. At others, it feels like a call to dance. Black Origami’s ability to sound so curious, yet so familiar, makes it one of the most resolute electronic records in recent memory.
PERFUME GENIUS - NO SHAPE (May 2017)
Continuing the stunning trajectory showcased on previous album Too Bright, Perfume Genius blossoms from his rebirth with daring production and moments of vivid celebration. At this stage, the solo project of Mike Hadreas is fearless in its approach. The album is filled with highlights: Wreath is dizzyingly triumphant, while Slip Away conjures a pyrotechnic orchestra just for you.
CABLE TIES – CABLE TIES (May 2017)
Melbourne trio Cable Ties cultivate perpetual motion on their debut full-length, barrelling forward with barrelling momentum with flashes of fury. Opening track The Producer sets the pace early with sprawling evisceration. Can’t Hold My Hand if a brief burst of potent punk. Album highlight Say What You Mean bounds like a wild animal, bringing it home with a spoken word breakdown before unleashing once more. Sheer power, on all levels.
LORDE – MELODRAMA (June 2017)
A celebration of the highs and lows of growing up, Melodrama is the long-awaited follow-up to Lorde’s debut album, Pure Heroine, and it traipses the dusty roads of a young artist discovering herself through the trials of fame. With a ‘80s twinge thanks to producer Jack Antonoff, Melodrama is decidedly less brooding than Pure Heroine but no less joyous, vulnerable and honest. Green Light will have you dancing, Supercut will have you rejoicing and Liability will have you crying in bed.
SZA – CTRL (June 2017)
Seemingly out of nowhere, SZA arrived as a fully-formed R&B star with the debut album CTRL. The album’s strength lies in its revelry in a pure form of the genre, giving SZA full spotlight to soar on hits The Weekend and Love Galore. Irresistible, from the opening Supermodel to the closing guitar ballad 20 Something. The future is looking bright.
VINCE STAPLES – BIG FISH THEORY (June 2017)
“Big Fish Theory is electronic album of the year,” tweets Vince Staples. A bold self-assessment, sure, but there’s truth that Big Fish Theory extends beyond the realm of rap and hip-hop. The elements are still there: the G-funk of Big Fish, Staples’ razor sharp lyrical wit, and guest turns from hip-hop heavyweights including Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky. Production pushes boundaries with distinctive club elements with an inclination for heavy experiment. It’s all over the shop, in a good way, and Staples holds it all together.
HAIM - SOMETHING TO TELL YOU (July 2017)
HAIM's Something To Tell You is a gleaming, sun-soaked summer album that is perfect in its ability to pep up your mood to fanciful heights. Lead single Want You Back is a ‘90s throwback that’ll have you clicking your fingers and attempting to regain control of your hips, Ready For You harnesses ‘80s synths and soft rock positivity and Right Now throws a haunting minimalist curveball. The three Haim sisters are just teeming with talent.
HTMLflowers – CHROME HALO (September 2017)
Parlaying deep introspection into deep bars, Melbourne-based rapper HTMLflowers (aka Grant Gronewold) captures the emotional struggle of living with chronic illness, ranging from confronting candour on God On My Hitlist, to love and support on Friends Like That. Chrome Halo is a product of a tight-knit electronica community (Banoffee, Marcus Whale, Felicity Yang, Sui Zhen, Oscar Key Sung all feature as guests), with Gronewold extending beyond with an at-times breath-taking record.
ECCA VANDAL - ECCA VANDAL (October 2017)
Enigmatic punk musician Ecca Vandal looks to a variety of influences in this firecracker of a debut album. With features from Refused’s Dennis Lyxzen, letlive’s Jason Aalon Butler (on the same track, Price Of Living, no less) and Sampa The Great, the record brings Vandal’s raucous live energy to life. From fuzzed out guitars to crunchy dancehall beats to banshee screeching to neo-soul, this album has it all and firmly cements Ecca Vandal as someone ascending to the world stage.
ALEX LAHEY - I LOVE YOU LIKE A BROTHER (October 2017)
Indie rocker Alex Lahey has already had a landmark year making her US TV debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers and touring all around the globe. On her debut record, I Love You Like A Brother, Lahey knows exactly how to make astute lyrical observations, write a catchy hook and make you feel not so bad about your life falling apart. The realness of tracks like I Haven’t Been Taking Care Of Myself and Backpack make Lahey mega relatable and refreshing, all the while delivering us some solid guitar pop tunes.
KELELA - TAKE ME APART (October 2017)
Kelela’s bringing ‘90s era R&B a la Destiny’s Child, Brandy and Aaliyah back with the stiflingly sensual tunes on Take Me Apart. A stunning debut output, Kelela’s strong, self-assured voice really shines in songs like Better and Altadena, while Waitin plays with effects and danceable synths to pique interest. She also brought on a plethora of producers and writers from varied backgrounds – pop and indie rock producer Ariel Rechtshaid, The xx’s Romy Madley Croft, Arca and Jam City all lent their expertise to the album, elevating it to new heights.
KING KRULE – THE OOZ (October 2017)
Four years ago, Arcy Marshall released his debut album as King Krule – two days after his 18th birthday. Excitement for the rising artist was palpable around 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, with the potential to emerge as one of the UK’s most compelling acts of the 2010s. In the years since, it was difficult to predict Marshall’s next move. There were collaborations with Mount Kimbie, an album released under Marshall’s birth name. Then in 2017, we received The OOZ. It’s the realisation of Marshall’s skittish genius. Dum Surfer defies convention as a woozy, demented anthem. With The OOZ, King Krule treads his own path. Again.
COURTNEY BARNETT & KURT VILE – LOTTA SEA LICE (October 2017)
An intercontinental dream-team match-up, Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile relish their like-mindedness, and their differences, across nine dreamy tracks. Both artists push upwards as they trade delightfully droll witticisms, charming with uninhibited wordplay. A delightful sojourn between Court’s and Kurt’s respective album cycles.
ST VINCENT - MASSEDUCTION (October 2017)
On the surface level, Annie Clark’s fifth album as St Vincent reads as a dramatic reinvention of style. Lead single New York jettisons Clark’s trademark blistering guitar in favour for piano ballad intimacy. The pop sheen, emboldened by in-demand producer Jack Antonoff, coats St Vincent’s most refined song-writing yet. It can be a dizzying rush at times, see Sugarboy, or heart-breakingly candid (Happy Birthday, Johnny). This is art-pop, with reverence for art and pop in equal measure.
SAMPA THE GREAT – BIRDS & THE BEE9 (November 2017)
Zambia-born and Sydney-based Sampa The Great harnesses the power of her poetry with another mixtape taken to new heights by her hip hop, neo-soul and rap-blended style. Her proud heritage is front and centre here in songs like Black Girl Magik and album starter Healing, while Can I Get A Key is a dizzyingly hypnotic exploration of self. Released without much fanfare, Birds & The Bee9 is full of treasures.